The Animal In Me
A/N: This story is in response to a challenge I found while reading "The Secret by Tia Evans." I started this story a long time ago and just ran out of ideas for it. I have recently decided to start it back up again. I am very sorry to all of those who liked Messing with Destiny, I was unable to continue that fic. See my profile for more details. Peace, Love, and Pixie Dust ~Crystal~
Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing except the plot…sadly!
Chapter One: An Astounding Discovery
The rain came down in thick sheets that dark summer night beating hard against the roof and windows of Number 4 Privet Drive. Inside the house, all was quiet as all but one of the occupants slipped off quietly into the realms of Nirvana. The only occupant still awake was a young soon-to-be sixteen year old boy with messy hair, a lightning bolt scar, and vibrant green eyes that were hidden beneath large wire frames. The teenager was not your average boy, sure he was hormonal and sometimes angst ridden like many boys his age, but this boy was also a wizard. Not only was this boy a wizard, he was also extremely powerful and attended a school specifically for wizards. As a matter of fact he had just completed his fifth year at this prestigious school, Hogwarts. This boy's name was Harry Potter but he was also known, in the wizarding world at least, as "The Chosen One" or "The Boy-Who-Lived."
Harry stretched slightly as the muscles in his hand cramped for the fourth time that night. He was working on a particularly vicious essay from his least favorite professor at Hogwarts, Professor Severus Snape, who delighted in torturing him while he attended the man's classes at Hogwarts. Professor Snape, also known as the "greasy git" or "bat of the dungeons" by anyone not in Slytherin, taught potions and seemed to get some form of perverse pleasure from making Harry's life a living hell. Harry sighed, that was the only bad thing about going to Hogwarts, having to deal with Professor Snape.
Harry glanced down at his essay and realized that he was almost finished with it but he was truly too tired to continue tonight. Rolling it up carefully so the ink didn't smudge he gathered up his books, essay, quill, and ink and hid the lot under the loose floorboard in his room. It wouldn't do for his Aunt and Uncle to discover that he was doing his homework since they hated magic and would only get angry if they found out. Harry shivered involuntarily at the thought of what would happen if he made his Uncle angry. The bruises that littered his arms, legs, back, and chest could attest to that. It had been six weeks since his fifth year at Hogwarts had ended and Harry had had to return to his Aunt and Uncle's house for the summer.
This summer was proving to be almost as bad as the summer after his first year. He had not received any letters from his friends at Hogwarts and the death of his godfather Sirius several weeks ago had left Harry in a severe type of depression. This coupled with the intense and frequent beatings he was subjected too was starting to take a toll on Harry's mental state. Standing up from the floor, Harry stretched, wincing slightly as he pulled some of the fresh bruises he had gotten the night before. He turned to look at the alarm clock that took a spot on the corner of his desk and smiled slightly as he noticed that it was after midnight on July 31st. He was now 16 years old.
The sounds of multiple owls heading his way in the dead of night prompted Harry to quickly open his window. He stepped aside leaving plenty of room for the owls to enter. He was only familiar with three of the owls in the bunch. One was his own snowy owl, Hedwig, another looked to be from Hogwarts, for it was carrying a letter in its beak bearing the Hogwarts crest. The other owl he recognized was Pigwidgeon, who belonged to his best friend Ron, and was currently zipping around the room like the poor thing was extremely high off of sugar or caffeine. Harry let out a sigh and intercepted the annoying bird commanding that the bird "hold still" as he took a letter and small package off his leg. Pig twittered happily once he had been relieved of his burden and zoomed over to Hedwig's cage to get a drink of water before flying back out the window and into the night. Harry reached over to untie the burden from Hedwig next. He smiled when she nipped his fingers affectionately before going over to her cage and getting some rest. Harry then turned to the remaining two owls. One he knew was a school owl from Hogwarts and the other? Harry had no idea where the majestic horned owl may have come from. Harry sighed and reached over to untie the parcel and letter from the leg of the school owl and allowed the bird to fly out the window. He turned to the beautiful horned owl and reached out to untie the letter that the owl was carrying. Once he removed the letter from the owl's leg the bird immediately flew back out the window.
Harry looked down at the packages and letters on his bed. There were two parcels from his best friends, one from Hagrid, and one from Professor Lupin. The letter that he was holding in his hands must have been quite old. The envelope was made from yellowing parchment and the ink was flaking off in certain places. He also noticed that the ink appeared to be done in a very feminine hand. Harry stared curiously at the letter for a moment before turning it over. On the back of the faded envelope he noticed a strange seal, the letter "P" surrounded by a wolf, a stag, a dog, and a lily. Harry blinked at the image wondering slightly if he was imaging things before he opened the letter and with shaky hands pulled the faded parchment from the envelope. Opening the letter, Harry felt tears spring to his eyes when he saw the signature. Pulling himself together he proceeded to read the contents of this mysterious letter he had received.
My Darling Son,
Happy Sixteenth Birthday! First let me say that I sincerely hope that you will never have to read this letter and that I am there myself to impart this rather earth shattering news to you. Secondly, please know that I love you very much and that James loves you so much as well. Well now that that is out of the way, how about I tell you the real reason I am writing this letter to you? You see, love, you are not really James' son. I know this may come as an ENORMUS shock to you but I must ask you to not panic and keep reading this letter…I will explain.
It all started one dark rainy night almost 17 years ago, James and I were arguing about something, which to tell you the truth I cannot remember what that was, and I remember getting deeply upset. I walked out of the house we were living in to calm down and found myself at the door of a very dear friend. I knocked and he answered. I told him what had happened between James and myself. He and I started drinking…one thing led to another and nine months later I was holding you for the first time.
Now keep in mind Harry that the man I mentioned in this letter had no idea you were his son until now, he is probably reading the exact same letter you are right now, with a few minor details thrown in of course. The reason that this man had no clue of your existence is not because he was a horrible person or anything of the sort, but because I knew that he faced so many prejudices and knew that if he claimed you as his then you would face that burden too. Anyway, I told James about what I had done and he forgave me and said that it didn't matter who your biological father was, you were his son and he would love you anyway. I cried so hard when I heard him say that.
The day before you were born James and I decided that the best way to protect you and your biological father was to change your looks. So me being the clever charms guru that I am casted a spell that would conceal your true appearance until you turned sixteen or until your biological father claimed you, whichever came first. So now that you know the truth I guess it is time to find out who your real father is. Your real father's name is…(A/N: I was contemplating cutting the story here but even I'm not that mean :P)…Remus Lupin.
Oh my darling, I am so sorry for the pain you must be feeling right now and I wish I was there to sooth that pain away. I hope that someday you can forgive me and Remus for causing you this pain. Please remember that I love you more than anything in this world or the next. You are my reason for existing and I will always be with you when you need me the most. Be strong and fight hard my love for I know the gruesome task that awaits you. Also remember that no matter what we are always proud of you.
All my love now and forever,
Your Mother,
Lily
Harry stared at the letter in shock, his mind whirling with so many different emotions, anger, betrayal, love, longing, and sadness. Harry sat down hard on his bed and reread his mother's words. There was no doubt about it, he was Remus' son. So many questions flew through his mind and he was having a hard time grasping the thought that his father was his former DADA professor. Shaking his head and deciding to think it through later Harry put down his mother's letter and turned to the rest of his gifts.
Remus Lupin sighed as he looked out the window of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. He had taken over residence of the place when his remaining best friend Sirius had fallen through the veil in the Department of Mysteries. The rain pounding down against the glass of the windows currently reflected his mood. Remus had been both sad and angry about the passing of his best friend six weeks ago. He was angry because Sirius had, once again, allowed his hot-head and total inability to think things through, to allow the man to run head long into a fight with death eaters. Remus was also sad that his remaining best friend was gone. He sighed and wished that, for once, his werewolf genes allowed him to get drunk.
Remus turned away from the window when he heard a loud bang in the kitchen. He ran his fingers through his greying hair and walked down the flight of steps that lead there. When he entered the room, Remus noticed a large horned owl sitting on the kitchen table with a letter in his beak. Remus approached the bird and reached out slowly for the letter. Once relieved of its burden the bird flew off out the back door. Looking down at the thick parchment in his hand he noticed that the letter seemed to be old. He flipped it over and felt his heart jump into his throat when he saw the Potter seal on the back.
The seal had been designed by his best friend James Potter to allow the Marauders to send messages to each other. The only thing that changed was the letter in the center of the seal, which stood for the person sending it. Remus sighed and opened the letter with shaking hands. He sat down in a chair at the table and began to read.
Hiya Moony!
In case you are wondering if this letter is the genuine article, the whole shebang, and the real deal, well my dear friend I can solemnly swear that this letter is real. That being said, I promised Lily that I would write this letter to you since she is currently busy writing a letter similar in nature to Harry.
Now before you get all worried about how I know this information and whether I am angry I can assure you that I'm not now, nor have ever been, angry at either you or my amazing wife. That being said I want to tell you a secret that Lily and I have kept from the world. I hope you don't die of a coronary when you read this you old dog!
Ok so….wow writing this is harder than I thought it would be…anyway Harry is not my biological son. The night that Lily and I had that huge fight and she came to see you should ring a few bells in your head old friend. Anyway, Lily said that she and you got very drunk, which on your part anyway is a lot of dragon dung. Your metabolism doesn't work that way. However, it was also the night before the full moon and I know how randy and shit you can get during that point in time. Anyway, it turns out that when you and Lily….um….shagged you created Harry.
Now I know what you are thinking and I will tell you to stop it right now! I can assure you that Harry was not born with an active lycanthrope gene. He still has lycanthropy but it is dormant. So cut it out with the "Oh my god I passed it on" crap. Now I love Harry more than anything in the world and just because he doesn't share my blood doesn't mean shit to me. He is still my son.
Now I know you are probably confused as to why you weren't aware and the answer is simple. We were trying to protect you both. Lily and I wanted to tell you ourselves but the laws against werewolves would have put both you and Harry in terrible danger. Hopefully, at the time you read this letter, things will be better for werewolves. I am not sure if you know but Harry has a big role to play in the war and things will get tough for him. I hope that the two of you can find happiness together and that you can encourage him Moony, he is going to need you.
Well I would love to continue this letter but Lily is going to Gringotts to put the letters in our vault under a time release spell which will automatically send these letters on Harry's sixteenth birthday so I have to sign off now. Take care of yourself Moony and don't forget to take care of Harry as well.
Your pack brother,
Prongs.
Remus sat there staring at the letter from his dead best friend in disbelief, he had a son! He couldn't believe it, that a boy whom he believed to be the son of James and Lily Potter, was actually his son. Remus walked to the cupboard and pull out a bottle of Firewhiskey taking a long drink. Once he came up for air, his first though was, what do I do now?!
A/N: Hi everyone, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my story called "The Animal in Me." I am not sure how this story will be received since this is a challenge fic but if you liked it please leave me a review. I am debating on making this story Harry/Snape as a pairing so let me know if that is something you would like to see happen. Remember if you leave me a flamer I will laugh at it and then delete it. If you would like a copy of the challenge or to be a beta for this story feel free to send me a PM. Well see you all next time. ~Crystal~